What is Web 2.0?

What is web 2.0? I actually have no clue what web 2.0 is and I am really interested in learning more about them. I am excited to learn more about the other web 2.0 websites because I haven't even heard or used some of the other ones. I would have liked to have had picnic, because I am a huge photographer and picture lover, but I have never used this website. I have heard a lot about the website and all the things that your could do to photos but just have never had the opportunity to really get on and learn the website. Overall, I am excited to learn about the other website and share the knowledge that I have gained from using storybook and ways that I would use it in the classroom. I already have a few ideas that I have discussed, but I have some more time to really play around with the website and learn the best ways to use it in the classroom. I am glad that we get to present these to the class, like I said earlier, because I want to learn how to utilize the other websites and also teach other  future teachers about the Storybird website. It's all about getting out there and learning what the internet has to offer. You can learn a lot by looking at these websites and they can be great tools to use in the classroom. I am excited to learn and do more with the web 2.0 project.

Farewell TPTE...

Well I have to say that in the beginning I was truly worried and freaking out because I didn't know how to use or do things on a MAC computer but I am slowly but surely learning. I was able to learn a lot through my teacher and a lot of practice. I still don't consider myself computer savvy but I have definitely learned a lot through my expedition of this class. I have actually enjoyed myself along the way but there were a few times where I felt overwhelmed and became frustrated with the activities that we were doing. However, I really liked that we had time to work on things and it was also easier to stay and finish activities because I knew what was expected instead of leaving class and then trying to finish at home where I could have gotten more confused. I liked that the teacher was really helpful and gave her advise on a lot of the activities, it really helped me stay focus and finish things faster because I could always ask questions and receive immediate help. Most importantly I have learned useful techniques and resources that I will be able to utilize as a teacher through out my teaching career. I have learn how to create a website, the usefulness of portfolios, i learned how to create a movie, excel worksheet. an inspiration project, the uses of WebQuest, and the abundant amount of websites that are available to me. Looking back I have accomplished a lot in just a short period of time and I have very impressed with myself and this class. I no longer view this class as being too hard or difficult when your not computer savvy, I view it as a wonderful and intriguing class that I learned from and I'll be able to use what I have learned for years to come.

Websites

We have learned about the usefulness of websites and what all they have to offer. It was really interesting to create our own classroom website. https://sites.google.com/site/mrspickelsclassroom/home This is my website that I have created for my classroom. The daily schedule is my actual schedule that I am doing at Alcoa Elementary School during my internship. I thought it was really neat to incorporate this into my website. I think that most schools have websites and offer teachers to have their own so I was really excited to learn how to set a website up and also add the resources that I was able to use. Website are really interesting when you know how to access them, search, and use the materials that they offer. TPTE has taught me a lot of interesting uses for websites. We use the internet on a daily basis and sometime we don't realize how many websites we really access when we are checking emails, getting of facebook, and even blogging. I also discovered that there are a lot of FREE websites that Google offers. They have picasa for photos, blogger for blogging, gmail for email. and they even have google sites where people can create their own website for free. I was just amazed with all the things we were able to do with websites. They are fun, interactive and sometime very interesting!

Portfolio's and there many uses...

Portfolios are "organized collections of artifacts or individual, tangible products that verify and individual's professional growth" (p. 84) as stated in the book Preparing to use Technology: A Practical Guide to Curriculum Integration. There are several types of information that a portfolio can use for example, standards-based, working portfolios, assessment portfolios, and showcase information. Portfolios are kept in either print-based form or digital form. A print based form gives tangible artifacts that can be held where as digital allows for easy access on any available computer. Portfolios are very helpful for teachers and can be used in all types of curriculum. In my reading class that I just finished we actually had to do a literacy portfolio. It was really difficult because it was never explained and the teachers didn't seem like they understood what they were for, so I never received the full benefit of a portfolio but I know how to use them. I know hoe to develop and organize a portfolio and it would be good for teachers to create and use when searching for jobs. I have seen some portfolios that are created and used by other teachers from all their experience. It was really interesting.

Digital Storytelling: All About Me!

http://youtu.be/UrHsgPHCKkk

This was my first time ever making a video, and I have to say it was very difficult at the beginning but now I really have enjoyed working on it. I was really overwhelmed because I am from Georgia and therefore all my baby pictures we in Georgia but luckily I have tech savvy parents and my dad and mom already had a lot of pictures they scanned into the computer so all they had to do was send them to me and then I had a lot of pictures on my phone and computer so I just saved them to a thumb drive. I was very excited to do the all about me and I really think kids would love to learn how to do this. It is great for introducing kids and finding out who all has the same interests. I think most people in our class will add something about UT, because we are all attending UT. I was a little frustrated with adding in the music because I do not use itunes and all I could use was the ilife sound effects which were great but didn't flow exactly well. I could see younger students getting frustrated with this process however I think it would be great for older students to do and also for teachers to introduce themselves. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I am happy with the way it came out!

Addition Spreadsheet

This is my spread sheet project for first grade math. Students will be able to take this simple math practice and receive feedback on their answers. This was an interesting but also confusing project to complete. If the directions went in line with the things that need to be completed then it may have been easier. I started out by completing the compound activity and therefore it was easier for me to complete this task by changing the things that needed to be changed. It was quite simple once I understand where to put what. The directions were just a little confusing at some points while developing my own activity. Overall, I thought that once you developed the spreadsheet it was easy to use and understand, therefore, I could definitely do this again. This is a great thing for teachers to use when developing a quick quiz or practice for students on any type of curriculum or lesson that is being taught. I think it would be great to use as a pre-quiz and post-quiz to see what information students have gained when teaching on a certain topic. Once I learned how to utilize this, it was easy and I can see myself using this in the future!

Inspiration Project

I really enjoyed working on the Inspiration project. It is a web map/diagram making program that is really user friendly. I was able to use the same concept as my inquiry based worksheet which made it easier to do the project. I already had a great idea that went along with a first grade level standards on learning about habitats.I think that adding in pictures of the habitats and the animals that live in them really adapt to the visual learners. It's also a great way for students to get involved in the environment. Learning about habitats and the animals that live in them address even more issues about things that affect habitats like littering and pollution which could also be addressed during this lesson. I really think that diagrams and maps help captivate the essence of whats being taught in the lesson. It allows the students to address every aspect of the activity by looking at the pictures, reading the notes, and understanding that the arrows represent a relationship between the points that it goes to. This is really an easy tool to use as a teacher to engage students for basically anything in the curriculum. I really liked using this and felt that it was really understandable. I will use this as a teacher to create maps and diagrams to help integrate my lessons!

Mid-Course Check In

For my mid-course check in I feel like i am doing better and feeling about working with technology. I am still a little apprehensive on certain projects and activities that we have to complete because sometime they seem really difficult and I don't really understand. But when the teacher explains and shows us exactly how to do it or provides rubrics/ examples it is a little easier to understand and complete. I really believe that the rubrics and examples from previous classes really help because I am such a visual learner. therefore, seeing it really benefits me to understanding what exactly I need to do. I am getting more and more comfortable with working on an apple computer and figuring out how to use it is getting easier. I especially like when the teachers tells us how to do things with the command tab. I remember those shortcuts and it really helps when your working in the mac computer.
I am getting nervous about my internship because I start at Alcoa Elementary on Monday, July 18th but we are still in class so I am getting anxiety over what i'm going to do. I assume I will be driving back and forth until our class is over because i do not want to miss any classes and receive points off. I am dedicated to both my internship and this class so i will definitely make it work, but it'll be difficult when assignments and tests are due because the majority of my time will be at Alcoa. Overall, the class is getting better and I am not as scared anymore to try things but I am getting nervous about the last few weeks of the class due to my internship placement. I have really enjoyed the projects and activities that we have completed and I look forward to learning more on how to integrate technology into the classroom.

Reflection on Scavenger Hunt

I really enjoyed doing the scavenger hunt, at first it was really difficult to think of what I could do because I had the ABC's but then I started thinking about how I would use this in my classroom and since I am teaching kindergarten, I thought that creating a them would be beneficial to help think if pictures. For fruit you could do A is for Apple, B is for Banana, C is for Cantaloupe, ect. This would help introduce a lesson for students who may not know what fruits are. I chose the theme, all about candy!!! So my pictures included the types of candy that you could find at Wal-mart or a gas station. Children love walking down the candy isle, and why wouldn't they, it's so colorful and fun to see the multiple different treats available to eat. I was really impressed with all the different names/types of candy. I didn't even know that half of them existed. I really enjoyed doing the scavenger hunt as a theme to create pictures that go along with the ABC. I would definitely use this in my classroom to help students use creativity when developing a new lesson and also helping them learn important concepts that maybe difficult to grasp. It's a great activity to incorporate multiple uses of technology and the internet. They use a camera, computer, picasa,and they can learn how to use a web 2.0 site like smilebox which was really easy to navigate through and learn how to use. Overall, this was a fun, interactive activity and I really like it!

Smilebox Scavenger Hunt ABC

Personalize your own slideshow design

Scavenger Hunt ABC

Storybird....

At the begining I was really confused because I didn't understand why we were put in groups of two, with the two people being from a different program/level of teaching. I am an Elementary Education major and I was grouped with an English High School Education major, but now I can see why it was important to gain even more knowledge from the opposite end. Our web 2.0 website is Storybird, which is a website that I have never heard of. I was able to get on there, create an account, and just play around for a decent amount of time. I was able to get an understanding of the website and learn how to use it. I was able to learn why I should use it my classroom, but again I find it more appropriate for higher grade levels in Elementary Schools. It is a website where people can create interactive storybooks by using artists pictures. It is really easy and fun. I could see myself creating books for my students and reading to them some other books that are appropriate, but for kindergarten-2nd grade, it could be difficult for them to create a book and think of how to use their words along with pictures. There are ways to create books together as a class and that would be great to do with the younger grades. I also thought it would be great for parents to get involved and create an all about me book for their child and then the child could read it to the class at the beginning of the school year so students can learn about one another in a fun interactive different way. I was really impressed with some of the art and images that people could upload to create a storybook along with some of the stories that I see actually being published and read to children.

Wiki's

Before class today, I had never heard of a Wiki and I definitely didn't know what they were, how to use them, or what they were used for. I was able to learn all of these things about Wiki's today in class. I was pretty impressed with how easy it was to work with the Wiki since I am not that tech savvy of a person. I liked that we were able to look up some information about Wiki's and the youtube video helped me understand what they were used for and scenarios for how they could be used. Now that we are developing our own Wiki, I can see the uses of it for collaborating, but I also find it a little difficult and frustrating when your trying to add things but can't because other people are editing. I would have say that this is the only downfall for me when using a Wiki. I like that you can add links and then other people could contribute in other links. I see the benefit for this in schools but I am not sold on it for younger grades. I know that I will have a degree for Kindergarten-6th grade but I am primarily interested in grades kindergarten-2nd and I feel that these students will not benefit from this. I think it could be confusing, especially for those students who have never used a computer before or the internet and there will be some. Since I am in the Urban Multicultural Cohort, we visit schools who are mainly low-socioeconomic status and some of these families will not have a computer or the internet, therefore, students will be coming into the schools and using these for the first time. So I just find it a little difficult seeing myself using something like these with students K-2nd grade. As a teacher, I can see myself using Wiki's with other colleagues and it being a simple easy way to collaborate on lesson plans, projects, and daily activities. I think in this case it is more realistic for me to utilize the Wiki just as a teacher. I'm unsure that I would be able to use these during my internship but I am interested in learning more on how to incorporate this in the lower school grades.

Reflection on Evaluating Website

I think this activity helped me to learn more about a website. I really thought about the five criteria for evaluating websites and that they should have accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity, and coverage. I looked at the website www.starfall.com. I have used the website myself and have also talked with teacher who use the website to help with their activities/lesson plans. I have even been in classrooms where I have seen students on the computer at this websites doing an interactive books and games. So that is why I chose to evaluate this website. The activity helped to assist me in meeting the learning objectives associated with the evaluation of websites to use in my classroom because it allowed me to look at the website piece by piece, part by part, and really understand the website. I had only accessed the website prior to gain information, knowledge, or help with activities that I did with my private Pre-k class so it was interesting to see the criteria that it met and what it didn't. It was interesting to learn new things about the website because there were places that I had never accessed and also to see a new website that they have made called more.starfall.com. It's a new website that offers even more resources to teacher and parents to use. So by doing this evaluation I was able to learn even more about the website and now as an intern in Kindergarten, I have the opportunity to visit this site and do even more!!

Learning Expectations for this Course

My learning expectations for the TPTE 486 course, is that I am excited to be learning how to utilize and and incorporate technology in the classroom, however, I am discouraged because I am learning how to us a Mac computer and learning how to access all that Google has to offer. I feel as though I am already off tract because I don't know how to do certain things on a Mac. I am definitely trying and willing to learn because I do want to purchase a Mac laptop at some point and I know that a lot of schools have incorporated them into the classrooms. So I am excited but nervous. I have already learned a lot within the two classes because I have never heard of google docs and I think it's awesome. I expect by the end of this course to understand and be able to use the multiple things that Google offers which includes doc, blogger, pictures. ect. I am glad that we are learning not only how to use and access these things but also understand how they work and why they are important. I expect to gain ideas for lessons and also ways in incorporating different technology from grades K-12. Overall, I just expect to learn the things that will benefit me as a teacher, in today's society, technology is booming and our students may know more about things than we do, so i just want to be current with the technology to engage my students and get them involved in their learning process. I am looking forward to what this class has to offer and I honestly can't wait to learn more than what I expect.

About Me

Welcome to my blog! I will begin by giving a short description about myself. I was born and raised in a small town of Northeast Georgia. I moved to Tennessee in 2010 about a year after I got married. Before moving, I attended Breanu University and Gainesville State College where I pursued my major in Psychology with a minor in Elementary Education. Since moving to Tennessee, I have been pursuing my degree in Elementary Education at the University of Tennessee. I am interested in becoming a teacher because it is a profession in which I will find both purpose and pleasure. I have a passion for working with children and a desire for life-long learning. I have the ability to create an environment for all students to learn and achieve academic success. I have confidence that I can enhance the student’s quality of life by being a caring, helpful, and positive role model, while being an efficient and effective teacher. I will be interning this upcoming school year (2011-2012) at Alcoa Elementary in a kindergarten classroom. After my internship I will graduate with my Master's!!! My hobbies include hiking, camping, and laying out at the pool, lake, or ocean. I also enjoy reading, however, I don't often have extra time to devote to reading due to class work. My favorite thing to do is either dinner and a movie or game night with my husband, friends, and/or family. I really try to cherish the moments I have with my family and friends because availability comes and goes and I know that this next year will start to get chaotic with doing my internship and taking classes.